Hello all! I’m still here, alive and cooking! (sorry) Turns out I’m not so good a the blog upkeep, but these Thanksgiving dishes were just too yummy not to share, and of course I have to post something for my biggest cooking day of the year! Here are some of the highlights.

Winter’s made me super lazy about cooking lately and I’ve been stuck in a rut of making my favorite staples over and over again. But having recently joined a new food coop in the neighborhood, I have all this yummy produce and was inspired by the fresh herbs I saw yesterday and decided to get off my lazy butt and make a stew! This is a variation on my good old black bean recipe, but made a little heartier with sweet potatoes and greens, and with an herby kick. Perfect for a cold wintery night!

Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Collards Stew (serves about 8)

usual black beans recipe, minus the dry oregano and adding to the pot 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed, and 1 more cup of water

Plus

1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

2 tsp chopped fresh rubbed sage

3-4 leaves collard greens, chopped

When the beans are soft, add the red wine vinegar, sage, oregano, and collards, and let simmer another 4 minutes until the collards are wilted. Garnish with some fresh oregano and serve with brown rice.

I haven’t had a quesadilla in a loooooong time. I’m not the biggest fan of vegan cheeses, but in keeping with my recent mexican theme, and because I love food that is wrapped in something, I decided I’d give it a shot. The sweet potato added to the creaminess that might be missing in a cheeseless version, and to the overall orangeness of the dish. I used some leftover tempeh sausage crumbles from my last post, which made them nice and herbalicious.

-cook sweet potatos in a pan with olive oil on low heat, covered, turning over halfway through until they’re browned on both sides.

-while the sweet potato is cooking, caramelize the onions over med-low heat, covered, until they start to brown, stirring occasionally (about 5-7 minutes). Add white wine to deglaze the pan and cook 3 more minutes. Add peppers, mushrooms and chili paste and cook another 3-5 minutes.

-Cut a tortilla into half circles and fill with the layers of cheese, veggies, and sweet potato. Grease a pan with some butter and grill the quesadilla over medium heat for a few minutes on each side until the cheese starts to melt and the tortilla gets browned and crispy. Don’t put the heat too high because vegan cheese takes a while to melt so you have to cook it slower.

They came out so orange and pretty that I almost didn’t want to eat them!